Wayne Ridings: A leader in community service workWayne Ridings has been recognized not just locally but statewide over the years for his community service work. Most recently, Ridings was recognized with the 2016 Outstanding Volunteer award at the Standing Ovations ceremony conducted at the Boys and Girls Club in Russellville. Out of the accomplishments and work Ridings has done, he said his favorite and biggest accomplishment was reconstructing the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) building in Dard...

City focus shifts to the futureWhere do the residents of Russellville want to go from here? What is planned out now will have a big impact on what occurs in 2030 or 2040. Over two dozen people attended Thursday’s visioning workshop for ReImagine Russellville 2040, the new comprehensive plan for the Russellville community. Mayor Randy Horton said after several meetings about the city’s issues, those inside City Hall started to focus on what direction will Russellville go tow...

Doodle Rocks to be placed in RussellvilleGirl Scouts in Troop 6760 have put together a project for their Bronze Award, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. Rebecca Tate, troop leader, said the Bronze Award is achieved by conducting a community service project that has some level of sustainability. On Aug. 1, the girls voted on a project they called Doodle Rock. They have worked on this project for the past two months and now is ready. The project consisted of the girls dec...

Authorities warn of phone scamCOURIER STAFF REPORTS The Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) issued a warning to local residents about another scam by a man identifying himself as James Marshall. According to the PCSO, James Marshall is calling residents and informing them they missed a court date. He then tells them he will come arrest them unless they give him money. The PCSO also warned in a recent call made by James Marshall, he presented himself as Sheriff Shane Jones....

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COURIER STAFF REPORTSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Quorum Court approves fund transfersThe Pope County Quorum Court approved various fund transfers and appropriations and was introduced to the new director of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) during its regular meeting Thursday. Paul Harvel said he wanted to meet each justice of the peace and talk to them individually in the near future. An alliance lunch meeting will be scheduled on the campus of Arkansas Tech University. Harvell said he wanted to ha...

Western Yell County SB authorizes LPAHAVANA — The Western Yell County School Board authorized a lease purchase agreement, reorganized their board and issued a bonus to full-time employees during its Oct. 17 meeting. Superintendent Joe Staton said a resolution was passed by the board authorizing a lease purchase agreement (LPA) for two school buses. The total amount of the LPA was $209,000 and was designated as a qualified tax exempt obligation. First Security Beardsley, who discu...

Climate change deal now international lawUNITED NATIONS -- The Paris Agreement to combat climate change became international law on Friday -- a landmark deal about tackling global warming amid growing fears that the world is becoming hotter even faster than scientists expected. So far, 96 countries, accounting for just over two-thirds of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, have formally joined the accord, which seeks to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenh...

Alleged Waffle House shooter's bond set at $75KDrayton O. McFarlin's, 37, unusual nickname led to his arrest in connection with a shooting that occurred at Waffle House in Russellville on Sunday. McFarlin, who was identified as the shooter by a witness as someone called "Books," appeared in felony bond hearings on Friday inside the Pope County Detention Center. McFarlin was arrested after officers discovered the shooter may have had ties to Conway and inquired with the Conway Police Depart...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Health care costs outpacing wagesMillions of Americans are finding out this month that the price of their health insurance is going up next year -- as it did this year, last year, and most of the years before that. And it's not just that the price is going up, it's that it goes up faster than wages and inflation, eating away at our ability to pay for other things we want (beer, televisions, vacations) or need (rent, heat, food). Does it have to be this way? Why does health ca...

Toys for Tots begins Nov. 19This year, Toys for Tots is getting a different kind of attention from Russellville. Local organizations Central Arkansas Advertising, Arkansas River Valley Heating and Air, Fraternal Order of Eagles No.m 3928 and the Lake Dardanelle Marine Corps League 1310, the local detachment, have come together to sponsor this event and gather toys for this year's drive. "The reason I get involved in Toys for Tots is I believe it's a heart for kids, espec...

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BY SIERRA MURPHYmurphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arrest made in Sunday shootingThe Russellville Police Department responded to a shooting at the 2400 Block of North Arkansas Avenue at approximately 5:30 a.m. Sunday. Officers determined a male victim suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was receiving treatment at Saint Mary's Emergency Room. After speaking with witnesses, officers learned the suspect fled eastbound on Interstate 40 in a gray passenger car. Detectives took over the investigation and were able to identif...

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COURIER STAFF REPORTSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Miracle at the Starlite MotelACTS (Actors for Christ through Theater and Song), the theater company at the ATU Wesley Foundation, will present "Miracle at the Starlite Motel" dinner theatre on Nov. 10-12. The play, written by director Ruth Richison, will feature a cast of 19 characters, all played by ATU/Wesley students. Set in New Mexico in the 1970s in a small roadside motel, a retired couple from Brooklyn struggle to keep afloat. Having very few past guests, they hang ...

River Valley sees record turnout for early votingVoters in the Arkansas River Valley have turned out in record numbers as the early voting period comes to a close in Pope, Yell and Johnson counties. According to the Pope County Clerk's office, 10,920 of 33,534 registered voters had voted early through Wednesday. In Johnson County 3,154 of about 14,000 registered voters had gone to the polls early. In Yell County, 2,083 of 10,369 registered voters have already cast their ballots. Statistics f...

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BY SEAN INGRAMsean@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Break the Silence slated to kick off in downtown RussellvilleBreak the Silence, an event to bring suicide prevention awareness, will be conducted for the first time in front of the Depot in downtown Russellville. This year the event will be in honor of Callie Bellar, a 23-year-old Russellville resident and Arkansas Tech University student, who passed away on Oct. 5. Renae Connolly, along with Raya Mars and Shelby Dime, have worked to put this event together since early October. “She [Bellar] was like a ...

#todayVisioning Workshop Mayor Randy Horton will host a visioning workshop for ReImagine Russellville 2040, the new comprehensive plan for the Russellville community. The workshop will be at 6 p.m today, at City Hall.

Need for safety seats statewideRussellville police have seen a need and want to bring attention to a problem flourishing in the community. Child safety seats, or a lack thereof, is "something we come across daily," said Drew Latch, former public information officer for the Russellville Police Department (RPD). If the public doesn't have the means to get one for themselves, Latch said, local fire, police and hospital agencies will look to provide one. But because of demand a...

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BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley